Private Shiraya Falls: In Ardor's Bonds

[Cybelle Sal-Soren]

Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren

Soon.

She'd been counting the days. The hours. The minutes.

The seconds. Heartbeats. The space between them.

Every time Cybelle thought that she had come to terms with this new reality where her fiancée was trapped behind bars and forcefields there was something that stole her feet from beneath her. Some new or old fight. Some new mission that sent her careening from one end of the galaxy to the other and back again because she couldn't fathom not seeing his face. She didn't glance up when the gates opened and merely did her best to meditate while she waited. To clear her mind.

Find some sort of peace, tranquility, and serenity. The emotions that she had been trained since her youth to accept before all others. But the sheer weight of months spent separated hung over her like a black hole pulling away her innate glow. Swallowing it. Devouring, her light. And so…

She meditated.

Cybelle would feel him when he approached. She knew him. And so, she stood like an angelic statue with seemingly endless patience while the legal clerks took their sweet time with his discharge paperwork. Pin-straight chocolate hair waved in her face from a gentle breeze but eventually settled to highlight and frame soft features. Her presence alone was in stark contrast to the sterile environment Brandyn had been held in for so long.

She thought…That after all this time…She was past it. Past emotion. Past feeling like the sun and moon had fallen out of the sky. Past, feeling like her heart couldn't beat on its own. She tried to acclimate. To do what needed to be done. But…When a bubble of warmth began to swell in her peripheral vision her heart began to race. Her eyes opened. Watching, while Brandyn approached.

Watching. Waiting—While the gate opened. So very, very slowly.

The sight of his face, so achingly familiar, so achingly handsome, caused something in her self-imposed tranquility to break. Shatter, like fragile glass. She moved quickly. So swift that eyes not trained to recognize displacements of air would miss it completely. Her arms were around him before she could think of what she was doing, how she was reacting, while her lips found his with something that was very close to desperation. So full of need. Her being felt like lightning trapped in a bottle that someone had decided to shake. He might not have expected it…But his sweet Cybelle seemed to have missed him so fiercely that she didn't seem to feel the need to breathe.

Or the need to acknowledge they had an audience.

Her thoughts were chaotic.

Miss you.

Love you.

Need you.

Safe.

Home.

Brandyn would feel them while the intensity of the things she hadn't said the entire time he was locked away rose to the surface. She was positive, supportive, and focused on the future but things could have very easily turned out far worse. Her left hand rose to touch his face…To cherish the fact that he was no longer confined. Her eyes stung while she kissed him, loved him, with everything she had to the point where she would have blushed on any other occasion.

Cybelle was one of the few who wouldn't make excuses for him this time…But she was capable of seeing beyond his actions to the man he truly was. Even, if he couldn't see it. Time stood still amid the bustling galaxy that neither condemned nor forgave as wholly as the heart could. Their closeness was everything the Jedi of the Old Order would have called sacrilege. But…Cybelle, was admittedly selfish.

She could never let him go.

Here, in her arms, he was safe. Here, he was understood. Here, he was loved.

When she finally eased because air was becoming an issue, she settled back on her feet that had raised to tiptoes. She felt dazed and the whole of it felt surreal. Topaz eyes fluttered open to take him in while the pads of her fingers found his jaw. Stroking, softly. Her lips formed a smile that was neither filled with joy or sadness…It was only longing. Such soft, sweet, devastating longing.

"…Hi..."

How eloquent.

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

CLUNK

Why a state of the art prison facility still needed to sound ominous when it unlocked each of its doors was beyond Brandyn’s understanding. Probably something to do with psychology. It seemed manipulative.

Heh. A lot of that going around.

Droids of about seven-feet in height, and broad of shoulder, marched at each point of a square that invisibly surrounded Brandyn. Even on release, he was treated like the criminal he knew he was. It felt right. And it felt wrong. Conflict seemed now to be a constant companion.

Do not become jaded.

The words of his counsellor seemed too little too late. If the last name hadn’t been taken already, he may have considered a change.

CLUNK

Two of the droids stopped at either side of the door as it slowly opened. Natural light spilled into the room, bringing immediate contract to the artificial light he had lived with for these last months. He felt a little spark of hope light in his chest. It was near fragile, a candle in a hurricane, and it was quickly snuffed out by the storm within.

“You are discharged into the custody of Jedi Knight Cybelle Elyance. She has been assigned as your watcher. You will stay in the place that she assigns. You will be contacted weekly for assessment by JediCorp psychological assessors who will gauge your state of mind and determine when you are fit to return to normal duties of Knighthood. We strongly encourage meditation and a finding of your path of light once again. May the Force be with you.”

The words were the exact words of the judge that handed down his sentence. When the judge sounded them, they seemed humane. From the droid, it sounded like a dose of hollow, mechanical bureaucracy.

“Yeah. I know, I know.“

He should have been overjoyed to be released into the custody of the woman he loved. It was an act of mercy that he did not deserve. Perhaps that was it. Perhaps that was the thing that gnawed at his subconscious. No. There was something else.

He stepped through the door, and into the light. The thought did not occur to him to look up and let the sun warm his face. Instead, his eyes sought to quickly adjust to the light so he could pick out…

”Cybelle…”

He was pushed back a couple of steps with the hug, and his arms wrapped around her. His face was buried in the side of her head. He tried to cry for joy, but nothing came. Instead, he just kissed her gently on the ear.

”I missed you so much,” he said in a whisper, the truth of the words caused his voice to crack ever so slightly.

He lost himself in the moment of reunion, in the embrace of his Cy. It was so familiar, and yet now with a nagging awkwardness.

“Come on…I want to get away from here before they change their mind.”

Cybelle Sal-Soren

 

[Cybelle Sal-Soren]

Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren

The exchange held all the weight of gazing into the depths of an ocean at the witching hour.

On a night when there were no stars, no light, just the aching pitch of darkness. Where the wind didn't bring any sort of breeze and the water below offered only secrets. Danger, pain, confusion—Perhaps.

All things she couldn't see below the surface.

All things she should have known, regardless, because it did not take eyes to see that Knight Sal-Soren was not as he once was. Some part of her had hoped he might finally feel her affections for what they were but…But she'd been wrong. He would be able to see an insurmountable longing in her eyes before they closed and everything seemed to disappear. Replaced by artful tranquility and a creature far more demure than the grieving, loving fiancée, that missed him, worried for him, so very much. Whatever it was that she felt didn't matter in the moment. She'd thought she was over it. But seeing him with his freedom?

He felt guilt.

She felt relief.

The auburn-haired Knight held Brandyn for as long as he seemed to want. He held her. She could feel ghostly lips near her but it wasn't the same pull that she'd experienced. Cybelle was drawn to him like a planet orbiting a sun, like a satellite, but not for the first time she realized it wasn't always the same for him. Sometimes he just needed to be in his head. It was fair. All of it. Any mood swings, issues, or changes he wanted or needed…

It was all exactly fair. She would do her best to give him anything he required.

"I missed you—"

But understandably he was already ready to leave. She nodded her head gently and tried to shake off the feeling of something being amiss. Cybelle didn't have a name for what she felt.

Only…That something wasn't right.

"Do you want to leave…now? For Hapes? Or would you rather wait until morning?"

Her quiet question was issued with her softly pulling away. Reaching up to brush a wayward tendril of silken hair behind her ear…Such an innocent gesture that made her seem so much younger than she was. Unassuming. Cybelle would try and make anything he wanted happen were it in her power to do so...Given her instructions and limitations as his warden. She gestured toward a land speeder that wasn't far away. Their chariot for the day.

Cybelle had thought that he would have liked the chance to see his family. Pick up some of his things regardless of what she'd gotten for him—But she just wasn't sure.

More than anything…She just wanted to help...And she just didn't know how.

How does one coach a loved one through manslaughter?

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Her kiss lingered like a dewdrop on petals, and her presence, cherished beyond measure, granted Brandyn a fleeting respite from the weight of their circumstances. Though the public eye seemed drawn to their affection, they discreetly averted their gaze, sharing in the unspoken discomfort that accompanied such intimacy.

"We must retrieve our belongings from the apartment... Surely, we'll return there one day, won't we?" His words bore the semblance of hope, though his expression betrayed a different truth.

"We can leave our home mostly as it is," he suggested.

Drawing her close once more, he savored the embrace, longing for the simplicity of their connection devoid of barriers.

"By the Force, it feels right to hold you again... No confounded barriers between us..."

Their fingers intertwined, and with a gentle tug, he guided her towards the bustling speeder terminal, where a myriad of species mingled in the heart of Coruscant's political hub. Navigating the labyrinthine streets would have been daunting were it not for her guidance.

"Lead me towards freedom," he murmured, a hint of genuine warmth lighting up his smile.

Cybelle Sal-Soren

 

[Cybelle Sal-Soren]

Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren

She was so afraid to say or do the wrong thing.

That was some silly irony, was it not? Cybelle had stared down literal death with acceptance and grace but the notion of upsetting a grown man by putting her foot in her mouth left her paralyzed. There was nothing in her that had not missed him. That hadn't counted the days…Secretly, if selfishly, hoping that the Court system would deliver a light sentence. She knew what he thought he deserved.

Consequences. Just, consequences.

There was a need for atonement on a personal and moral level but she would have been lying through her teeth to say she completely agreed. The auburn-haired Hapani could feel the tension in his body while she clung to him in full view of pedestrians and automated guards. Both with the desire to simply know he was there, to feel his warmth, but also to be his anchor. "We can return when…", she trailed off gently, squeezing his fingers in her own, "When you're ready."

"Our home will wait for us, don't worry. I've already seen to the protocol droids and upkeep."

It would wait just, as she had waited.

Her heart ached for him and she could feel the forbidden burgeoning notions of happiness flicker in her chest when he kept her close. Held her. Even, just her hand. That was more perfect than she had words to describe. Not that she trusted herself to. He had such a burden within but Cybelle…

For the first time in months—Felt the sun. He took her breath away without even trying.

Brandyn asked that she lead him and a bashful smile dotted the kiss of her mouth as she acquiesced. Pulling him through the busy city streets, a free man, even though he was technically in her care. Cybelle trusted that he would adhere to the court order based on his own integrity and the respect he held for her. He would never do something that would leave her open to legal ramifications regardless how reckless his actions in the past might have been. Her bubbling presence caused the crowded streets to part for them like the sea rushing sweepingly around a boulder.

It left them unbothered, though, as they neared the land speeder she'd left a few blocks away she couldn't help but glance at her love. Her best friend. Taking in the familiar lines of his face and the way his hair fell just so. It was longer. She leaned up on her tiptoes to brush a strand away from his forehead, her touch feather-light. "…I'm here for you.", she spoke, her voice barely audible over the low hum of the city around them. "—Here with you."

And she wasn't going anywhere, regardless, of the state of things. There had been so much sadness and pain in such a short amount of time. Her difficulties on Exegol felt far away, distant, as the Jedi Knight had packed up her research and reserved contemplating like a fading dream. It wouldn't help Brandyn at the moment and she wanted to be whole, with him, before they tackled anything else.

She initiated the two-seater speeder, and they began to glide through the bustling sky-lanes of Coruscant. The vibrancy of the overworld stood in stark contrast to the sterile prison he'd been held in. Cybelle guided them with practiced ease, weaving through traffic with the same confidence that let her unconsciously part crowds.

"I thought…We could spend a few days in the apartment.", she suggested gently. "Give you some time to adjust before we head to Hapes. But if you'd rather leave now, we can."

She offered him a silent lifeline that gave options where his freedoms had recently been denied. Cybelle didn't want him to feel like she had him on a leash, rather, she felt warmed with the idea of having him always by her side. It was just the reason for it that kept it from being something to relish in. She was not his keeper, not his cage. His wife-to-be was his sanctuary.

Their apartment building wasn't far. There was a fork in the skylane that would either lead them toward their flat or toward the spaceport where a ship waited to take them anywhere, they wanted to go.

Brandyn just needed to choose which path he wanted to take. Her smile was an almost kittenish flicker, brief, but so full of love.

"Right or left, Bran?"

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

He was in such a hurry. Why? Why did he seek to flee this place so quickly? To begin his life of ostracisation within the Hapes Cluster.

Because he deserved to be punished for his crime.

For a moment, Brandyn just closed his eyes allowing the wind to blow across his face. Coruscant did not have the greatest smell to it, but it was better than his cell. He wanted to go back to their apartment. To hold Cybelle close and revel in their love.

He did not deserve it though.

He looked away from Cybelle. His heart ached for what he had, and now for what he should have lost.

“Just. Just take me away from here. Let’s go to Hapes.”

He glanced at her, formulating his lie.

”I want to start fresh.”

Cybelle Sal-Soren

 

[Cybelle Sal-Soren]

Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren

"I think…I'd like that, too."

Cybelle didn't catch the lie.

The time that she had spent separated from Brandyn had been beyond difficult. Their lives had unexpectedly collided due to the sins of his father, but before that, she had spent years without so much as a word from him. There had been literal years to come to terms with her feelings for him and the subsequent loss. If his father had never warned her away from his son so harshly in the beginning Cybelle might have never had the courage or the strength to admit it. That…Bran was the air she breathed. That the thought of him forgetting her…Replacing, her…Was unbearable.

It was the cruelest thing Baros Sal-Soren had ever said or done to her.

And yet…She quietly, still, mourned the loss of both heads of the Sal-Soren family. She mourned her lack of strength to save even one of them in the aftermath of the chaos the New Way had left behind.

They had been lost, too soon, from a family that needed them. From a world that arguably was worse without them. Teyla was light and Baros…Baros might have been able to help them bring some sort of sanity to the plague of anti-force sentiment.

Cybelle refused to lose Brandyn too.

The auburn-haired Hapani turned the music on low and the rest of the drive was made in relative silence. She commented on this or that, but all in all, the moment was too huge to be carried by idle chatter. Moving into the Elyance Estate was more than an escape from Coruscant and the politicking the Jedi Order often fell victim to. It was a new chapter and path for both of them.

________________________​

It wasn't the first time Brandyn had seen her ancestral home, though she admittedly still felt like an outsider. It wasn't the sprawling near-palace that he had grown up in on Naboo but it was far grander than anything she had ever known. There were more bedrooms than she knew what to do with and so many future-tech amenities that they kept randomly making themselves known. The protocol droids that had been left in charge had upgraded as they saw fit with a yearly allotment.

Cybelle had changed some things.

Added a tinkering garage and turned a garden in the middle of the home into an area for meditation. Gone were many of the old-fashioned furnishings and ruffles, replaced, with much more practical linen and functional pieces. It was much more her style. Clean, simple, but spacious and beautiful. There were still shadows of the home it had once been, quality material, and polished wooden and white marble floors but from the last time Brandyn had seen it until now—He would note a less-than-subtle facelift.

It wasn't full of dust and old, painful memories.

It let the light in.

"...Anywhere on the property is zoned for you to move freely."

She stood against the large front door, a little timid, and leaned against it while waiting for him to enter. Cybelle was sure the last thing he wanted to talk about were his current limitations but he needed to know what had been arranged for his release. "If you want to go into the city…I'd be happy to go with you."

It was phrased very carefully. Not only would she be happy to…But she had to go with him. Cybelle had assured every interrogator that he wasn't a flight risk nor a danger to anyone. They had only partially taken her at her word, now, he had to prove it too. Lest some shadowy parties who wanted to see a force-user completely fail got their wish. She was distantly aware of certain groups who thought of this release as a social experiment.

Could Jedi actually adhere to the laws of society? Accept punishment?

Or would they continue to make their own rules?

"I set us up in the room you found before. Do you remember where it is?"

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Brandyn walked in, towing a hovering trundler full of luggage. The house was a reasonable size. He was sure that it would suffice for their needs. Probably enough room to have a dozen or so guests at a time, which was enough.

He was smiling. Though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I like the changes you have made so far…”

He saw a picture hanging in pride of place on the wall in the foyer.

”…the Shore?”

His eyes sparkled for just a second, remembering their precious days in their youth spent at the Shore. He glanced at the now grown Cybelle, the woman he had loved since he was so young. She had not changed. And she had changed completely. When he saw her, looked into her eyes, there was always a corner that spoke to fear that he may look away and not look at her again. He grieved for her wounds.

As if moved by an unseen hands, he dropped the handle of the trundler, and took the steps necessary to reach out for Cybelle. He picked her up and spun just a little. His kiss was gentle, but needy, a recreation of their first kiss on Naboo. His arms wrapped tightly around her.

”I know the way,” he whispered into her neck.

His eyes opened to quickly gain a feeling of motion sickness. Were they falling? No…the trundler was moving backwards! As quickly as he had picked her up, Brandyn reached out with his hand to grab the trundler, almost dropping Cybelle int the process.

“Whoa…there…”

Cybelle Sal-Soren

 

[Cybelle Sal-Soren]

Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren

Cybelle was used to living in a space that had often housed travelers, injured, and weary Jedi looking for a place to recharge. Sometimes there was standing room only for mealtimes. She hadn't been a little princess living at the Shore but she had grown into a young woman with the knowledge that she was cared for. Loved. "It's not completely done but…This seems a lot more our speed. I didn't even know so many pink ruffles had ever existed…"

Every drape had been a cheerful shade of mauve-pink. Regal, with expensive gold thread…But Cybelle preferred functional, airy spaces. Brandyn seemed to be a cross between that and modern expense. Class. She hoped that it was a change they could both grow into. It was better than any apartment she'd ever leased on Coruscant. In all honestly, it was better just to live from her ship.

When Bran saw the image of the Shore she smiled for him, before her head ducked with shyness. "I asked Master Aegis for a few things. She gave me plenty of photos and a couple of lemon trees that I put in the—"

Cybelle stopped talking as he suddenly came toward her only to be swept up in his arms with a laugh that was soon swallowed by a kiss. She hadn't expected it, not so soon, and her face flushed with color at the surprise affection. Not that she minded, not at all. She felt guilty for how full her heart felt when he was this close but latched on to the pure happiness it created. When, for the moment, she seemed to be the only thing on his mind. Her arms twined around his neck just in time to keep from being dropped and she held close while her heart kept skipping beats. "One thing at a time…"

Her words were coupled by another silvery laugh and she tilted her head to bury her face into his neck. Breathing him in for a moment before brushing her lips along his jaw. So soft, so sweet. He would feel her sweet, warm smile.

Did he know how easily he made her lose her footing?

How the smallest touch, glance, sent her over the moon?

"Let's close the door…", she whispered against his skin, but there was something in her tone that was a little less chaste than what he was used to. She reached out behind his back and flicked her wrist which caused the aforementioned door to swing shut. Brandyn would feel her lips move and find his again. The emotion that flooded her was different than what she'd felt seeing him walk out of the prison. That had been filled with so much…Relief. This?

Cybelle pulled him closer. As if he were her lifeline. Her arms around his neck tightened as if letting him go might mean losing part of herself. Her kiss was not buried in innocence or held at bay with her innate shyness. It deepened, becoming urgent, consuming, with an almost desperate hunger that had been held in check for far too long. He would feel what she didn't say. After so much waiting. So much worrying...Every bit of her seemed to be pleading for him. When she eased back, she didn't go far…Just enough, to speak. Lest she lose her nerve. "Then…Let me love you."

"Show me, you know the way."

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

---

Moments had melted into one another, senses alight with ardor and words spoken of devotion and solace. After all that Brandyn now held her close, her head upon his chest as his breathing returned to a normal cadence. His fingers spun her hair around themselves as he contemplated what was appropriate to discuss in a moment such as this.

Pushing his chin to his chest, he kissed the top of her head, and then his head collapsed again to his pillow. He stared at the ceiling. Why had this not been his recourse? Why had her arms not been where he fled when his parents died? This was the only place in the galaxy where he was treasured, and she alone was all that he treasured. Instead, he had gone on a path of vengeance.

He could have filled his soul with her love.

Instead, he had broken her heart.

Even in her embrace, in their post passion state, Brandyn felt the dark cloud of doubt and disgust accumulate above him. He pushed back against the tide of self-resentment by touching her shoulder. Even now, the touch of her skin sent shivers down his spine. There was no better time to make life changing decisions.

”We shouldn’t put off the wedding…”

He winced. It sounded a little silly. Perhaps, he wondered, he may have even sounded a little puritanical.

”…what I mean is…we are in love…we want to get married…why…put it off?”

His free hand rubbed his eyes, and smeared his face downward as if to drive some sense into himself. It then fell back to her hand, intertwining naturally with it.

When he spoke again, his words were muffled by a kiss on her head. “Brandyn Elyance has quite the ring to it…don’t you agree?” He said, chuckling, but only half joking.

Cybelle Sal-Soren

 

[Cybelle Sal-Soren]

Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren

She snuggled in close, kittenish, and only half aware.

Cybelle couldn't do anything but listen to the sound of his rapidly beating heart. Giggling, so softly, so breathily she kept her ear to his chest and used her fingers to walk a little path. Her pointer and middle skipping like little legs, tracing patterns along his skin, as if they were dancing. Her happiness filled the room with an aura that felt so delicate and warm that it might have been rays of sunshine. The small woman smiled into him, so content, and filled with a sense of almost mystified awe. It was…

Perfect.

In all the girlish daydreaming she had secretly done over the years she had never quite imagined this. The cocoon of love, safety, and almost sacred intimacy that there weren't words for. When her head tilted up toward him, he would find that her eyes were full of wonder and that a certain shyness had sweetly returned. A blush crept across her cheeks and the air settled with a tender stillness, a stark contrast, to what had taken place not so long before. "…Put…it off?", she asked, dreamy and dazed, but as dawning fell on her about what he'd actually said—She blushed harder than ever before.

Their fingers entwined while Brandyn explained his thoughts and she chuckled softly into him while tracing circles on his hand with her thumb. There was an intensity in the wake of their connection that gave her heart some much hope. "Do you still…Want that?", her voice was low and gentle, filled with affection and a spark of vulnerability. Cybelle didn't want to assume that he was ready for all the others just because they had taken this step. "With me?"

The words "Brandyn Elyance" caused her to smile again.

Even when she seemed so hesitant, wary, her actions conveyed the truth of her. Every touch now was so light and reverent. As if she was afraid to break some delicate spell. She savored the moment for what it was, because, there would never be another morning exactly like this. It was new. There was an additional dimension to their relationship that felt so freeing she couldn't imagine going back. She couldn't imagine, closing this door. "Cybelle Sal-Soren I think might sound a little better."

Again—She was so sweet, shy.

Beneath all that he would feel a swell of budding confidence. Perhaps…A bit of selfishness. It was something that she rarely allowed herself, always, keeping the humble teachings of her Master in mind. Close to heart. "I want to be with you…Forever. If that's too much…Too long…We don't have to."

Cybelle breathed in deeply before glancing up at Bran again. He was so close that his face was a little blurry. It didn't make him any less handsome. Perhaps, with his arms around her in that moment, she loved him even more. "I can wait. I'll always wait, for you."

She exhaled and kissed his chest softly.

"But if you're certain…Just say when. We can go tomorrow, if you want."

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

She still held onto this feeling that he might not always want her. He shouldn’t. It wasn’t fair. He was not the man she deserved. But he selfishly took all that she would give. Cybelle was his all.

”Cybelle Sal-Soren…” He said the silently words again while kissing the top of her head. Cybelle Sal-Soren. Cybelle Sal-Soren.

“It’s not the first time I said your name like that,” he smiled, a hint of embarrassment washing over his head. “While walking back from the Shore…when…you know…you taught me what you knew about the Force. I would walk home practicing the sound of your name…”

His tone changed slightly as he whispered quiet apologies. “I should have taken you with me…when…I ran away from home. I am so sorry.”

Missed years. Missed memories. He could tell that his father’s words still wove their way through her hesitance to believe that he would commit to her. It was a cruel thing Baros had done. Heartless. Brandyn could never imagine treating his own child with such disregard. And he could never imagine willingly hurting Cybelle like that.

His stomach sunk a little. While the wrong that had seen him arrested was not done to hurt Cybelle, it had still had that effect. Was he really that much different from Baros?

”Forever is just about long enough,” he said, allowing her sweet shyness to pull him back in. His hand rest on her back, pushing her into his side closer.

“Tomorrow? We have a guest tomorrow…” He, of course, was referencing Briana’s arrival. “She will be here a few days…maybes he could officiate? I could ask her?”

Cybelle Sal-Soren

 

[Cybelle Sal-Soren]

Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren

She was smiling so hard into him when he twined their names together.

He was giving her his last name. Accepting, her. Giving the unwanted orphan from Hapes the one thing she secretly craved and desired over all else. Family. His faint bit of embarrassment washed over her and mollified her own to a degree. It reminded her that she wasn't alone. That she would never have to be alone again because Brandyn would be right there. "I wish I wouldn't have been so…"

"Focused on studies, then."

It felt like a lifetime ago, as if, she was looking at her younger self through a lens that didn't exist anymore. Cybelle had been so hard-pressed to learn how to be a Jedi that she had often overlooked the deeper meaning behind his visits. He's seemed so interested in the Force that teaching him had become her excuse. A charming and reasonable way to see him…When—They had never really needed any excuses at all. He had loved her so singularly…Even then.

She should have known that.

It shouldn't have taken his father coming to claim Brandyn and warn him away for her to accept the truth. Being young lent some measure of latitude but the way her heart beat for him had never changed. It was only when it shattered that…She could see it. It was never about the lessons. It was time spent together. It was love, innocent, and full of youth but the sweetest love all the same.

"You don't need to apologize. There are a million things we could have done…I could have chased you."

Her self-esteem simply hadn't been there. Her feelings about Baros Sal-Soren brought so many insecurities to light that stepping foot on the Naboo property felt like heresy. "I wish I had—"

"But we're here now.", she murmured, feeling his mood shift, and she nuzzled into him. Her heart was bare in this quiet interlude…Hopefully one of many…And she had nothing to hide. The only secret she had ever knowingly kept from him was already out in the open. "Master Aegis…I think she knew I loved you before I knew… I was a mess after it all happened. She told me that sometimes two people can be perfectly matched. Sometimes, they're meant for each other. Destined. But…If the time isn't right—They have to wait and grow on their own until it is."

"I think our time is now. I've done…Enough growing without you. I want to grow with you."

Brandyn drew her nearer and he would hear zero complaints about that. She would stay in this perfect bubble for the rest of eternity were it not for food and sleep being necessary. She felt so vulnerable but in the same measure, she also felt wonderfully safe. That was something…She hadn't expected to treasure so much. Feeling safe when all her walls were down. "Oh—"

She'd completely forgotten that Briana was coming! Cybelle was the worst host in the history of…Ever. Her limbs weren't quite cooperating when she tried to sit up and she flopped back down with a little whine. "I have to finish getting her room ready and I have to go to the market and I need to make sure she has everything she needs—"

Her eyes darted toward Brandyn's face when she realized she was spiraling out of nervousness.

Tomorrow. They could be married, tomorrow. Or in the next few days? Minimum?

"Ask her."

Cybelle flashed Brandyn a smile that was all warmth, all sunshine, and so very genuine. "Please.", she leaned in and punctuated it with another kiss. For once letting him know in the only way she could that this was what she wanted more than anything. "Please, please, please."

Kiss, kiss, kiss.

"Please."

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

His eyes lit up with shock, but not surprise, as Cybelle went into a near frenzy of activity. He caught her as she fell back into his arms, although her shoulder did pinch a bit of skin just under his arm. He tried not to show the spike in pain, but just grinned through it.

It was not hard to smile. He reaction to the possibility of marriage happening sooner than expected was adorable to say the least. His eyes reflected her enthusiasm back to her, and his laugh was cut off in quick moments of giddy pecks on his lips.

”I…am…sure…she…will,” he said between laughing and being attacked with love, “be…alright…with…doing…the…service…we…won’t…have…time…to…get…other…friends…and family…here…though…”

He held her face between his hands, as his thumbs brushed against her temples. How could she be more perfect? How could this moment be more perfect? They couldn’t.

”Is that OK? It is a long way from Naboo…from Jakku…Coruscant…it would likely be just the three of us.”

His hand swept her hair behind her ears with a deft touch. Her belated attempt to sit up had thrown the blankets off her shoulders. He pulled them up, encasing them in the warmth and weight of their embrace.

“But…all of that can wait…for now,” he kissed her nose lightly, “stay here with me?”

Cybelle Sal-Soren

 

[Cybelle Sal-Soren]

Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren

The kiss on her nose and sweet request caused her to settle.

Cybelle didn't realize that she'd pinched his shoulder a little but slowly wiggled until she fit back against him. It was strange. Like a custom lock and key that were specifically designed to work with one another exactly as intended. For once…She didn't feel so awkward. Her natural bashful nature would always be there but she hadn't been embarrassed enough to even notice the sheets had slipped just a smidge. That would have sent her spiraling to the moon, before.

He was…So warm.

He pressed pin-straight chocolate hair behind her ear and tawny eyes dipped low for a moment. Cute. Melting with what was truly an innocent affectionate gesture. "It's selfish…I know…But I don't want to wait anymore. I know what I want. Need.", Cybelle tried to voice her feelings while the introspective words caused her face to scrunch just a little in thought. It wasn't unpleasant…Just like a field mouse trying to think about something a little too hard. "I don't have too many regrets."

"There are a few, you know, the usual…Wish I'd tried the noodles from this stand on Felucia…Or the blue milkberry shakes from this really horrible looking diner on Coruscant."

"But… My only real regret….The only big one…Would be not marrying you the moment we could."

She let her face sink into his hand and Cybelle nuzzled her cheek to his palm. Things were so complicated. Brandyn was, more or less, attached to her hip for the foreseeable future and while she sympathized with his temporary loss of independence…She could think of worse things. They could go anywhere they wanted, do anything, they wanted. As long as…They were together.

Part of her did feel a touch of sadness at not being able to have all of their friends and family celebrate such a special occasion though. It was the joy of every little girl. The big dress with a train that could reach the moon. She was positive she could find something to wear in one of the shops on Hapes or even…Maybe, something that had belonged to her mother. There were literal closets full of garment bags that…She hadn't been able to bring herself to open. "Maybe…"

"Maybe we have the service with Briana—And then a party in a few weeks?"

Skip all the dramatic bits…Walking down an aisle, the pressure, of so many eyes on them. They could do the part that mattered with just the three of them and perhaps a droid to record it. Maybe…By the pond? The willow trees and lily pads were admittedly, very pretty. Then they could welcome their friends and family to the Estate later on and just enjoy everyone's company in a much more relaxed setting. His sisters might not forgive it, though.

Cybelle zoned out for a partial second…Really, just thinking again, of the sound of her name next to his. Wife. That was…It was something most Jedi couldn't conceive…But in her heart? She felt stronger for her. Her hand found one of his she pressed their palms together again. Fingers interlacing while her eyes closed again…Suddenly, feeling tired. Elation was a powerful sleep prevention but it was all catching up to her. "I promise…I'll always be here. We won't always agree. It won't always be perfect and relationships take effort…But I'll work as hard as I can."

Her hand squeezed his.

"Be my partner, Brandyn…Be…"

Her lips twitched in a cute, half smile.

"Mine…And I'll be yours."

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Her words flowed like honey, their sweetness almost tangible. He listened intently, yet his focus was drawn to the delicate dance of her lips. Each movement, each inflection was a testament to her grace.

A surge of inadequacy threatened to overwhelm him, but he stilled it with a quiet confession. Even before his past transgressions, he had never felt worthy of Cybelle. Not as a youth, not ever. No one could claim to be deserving of her.

His gaze traced the way her lips curved with each vowel, the subtle shifts in her brow as she emphasized certain phrases. Each utterance was precious, not merely for its meaning but because it came from her.

"I should have married you years ago," he murmured, responding to her reflections on missed chances. He had caught only fragments of her words, but they had guided him to speak something that felt right.

It seemed impossible that fate had brought them to this moment.

"We can send out invitations for the reception tomorrow. We can arrange it for the last day Bri is here," he suggested, firming up their plans. "How about a honeymoon? There's a lake just outside Ta'a Chume'Dan. I've been there before. We could rent a cozy cottage by the water for a few days."

He knew his idea of cozy might be more grand than she imagined, but he looked forward to surprising her.

Her voice softened, drawing him closer, her gentle promises momentarily halting his breath. Looking into her eyes, he realized Cybelle Elyance was someone he could never deny, especially now, when everything felt so perfectly right.

He held her hand over his heart. "You've always been here."

He pressed a tender kiss to her hand. "I promise not to give up on us."

He brushed his lips against her forehead. "I promise to give my all to make this work."

He kissed the bridge of her nose. "I will be your unwavering support."

Finally, he leaned in, his words brushing her lips with the utmost tenderness. "I've always been yours."

And as their worlds converged in a soft, lingering embrace, the moments melted away into a profound intimacy, where their love spoke volumes and everything else faded into the night.

Cybelle Sal-Soren | The End